There are two arts of measuring--one is concerned with
relative size, and the other has reference to a mean or standard of what is
meet. The difference between good and evil is the difference between a
mean or measure and excess or defect. All things require to be compared,
not only with one another, but with the mean, without which there would be
no beauty and no art, whether the art of the statesman or the art of
weaving or any other; for all the arts guard against excess or defect,
which are real evils. This we must endeavour to show, if the arts are to
exist; and the proof of this will be a harder piece of work than the
demonstration of the existence of not-being which we proved in our
discussion about the Sophist. At present I am content with the indirect
proof that the existence of such a standard is necessary to the existence
of the arts. The standard or measure, which we are now only applying to
the arts, may be some day required with a view to the demonstration of
absolute truth.
We may now divide this art of measurement into two parts; placing in the
one part all the arts which measure the relative size or number of objects,
and in the other all those which depend upon a mean or standard. Many
accomplished men say that the art of measurement has to do with all things,
but these persons, although in this notion of theirs they may very likely
be right, are apt to fail in seeing the differences of classes--they jumble
together in one the 'more' and the 'too much,' which are very different
things.
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